MERRIMACK, N.H., April 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Building upon more than 50 years of discovering, developing and delivering innovative products to people all over the world, Brookstone announced the launch of its Brookstone PLUS Innovation & Retail Platform. Brookstone PLUS gives makers and tech brands faster access to stores in U.S. malls and accelerates the collection of customer feedback essential to product development. The platform also helps makers and brands sell products in A-level malls at low cost structures that are competitive to selling through online marketplaces. As part of this global initiative, the company will host a grand opening of its first Brookstone Makers Showcase store at the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York, on Saturday, April 21.
The new Makers Showcase store will feature crowdfunding campaigners from Indiegogo, inventors from Quirky, and new tech brands from around the world, such as Anker, Mobvoi and Royole.
Putting the show in showcase
“We’re bringing more than 50 years of retailing expertise to new makers,” said Brookstone Vice President of Operations Tom Connolly. “We’ve helped launch brands such as Tempur-Pedic, Parrot, iRobot and Segway. Getting people to experience new technologies and have fun is in our DNA. What Makers Showcase does is give makers and tech brands accelerated access to Brookstone stores and our innovation-minded customers across the U.S. and, in the near future, the world.”
Every inch of the new Brookstone Makers Showcase store is designed to deliver hands-on experiences with new products. In addition to a dedicated product demonstration stage, our new Makers Showcase store will feature a sound-dampened “Voice Box” room where customers can try out voice-centered innovations such as Zolo voice-activated speakers.
Sharing customer insights
Makers Showcase will combine advanced store traffic analytics with feedback from customer interactions to help makers quickly gain insights into their products. Brookstone chose RetailNext to provide the smart store analytics platform for analyzing customer traffic patterns, dwell time and conversion. “Comprehensive shopper data allows both Brookstone and its makers’ brands the ability to measure shopper engagement and utilize those metrics to take continuous improvement actions on everything from merchandising to ongoing product development,” said Alexei Agratchev, Cofounder & CEO at RetailNext.
Brookstone Makers Showcase will host frequent Meet-the-Maker events during peak traffic periods where makers can meet customers face to face. “One of the advantages of selling in a brick-and-mortar store is that we get to meet customers in person and see their emotional responses when they interact with our product,” said Xavier Peich, maker of the SmartHalo Smart Biking System. “Seeing customers’ first-hand reactions at Brookstone lets me know what’s working, what really matters to a customer, and what messages may need to be strengthened.”
Creating value for customers and makers
“Makers often experience sticker shock when trying to sell their products through brick-and-mortar retailers,” said Nick Vyas, Founder and Executive Director at the Center for Global Supply Chain Management at the USC Marshall School of Business. “Selling through traditional retailer agreements quickly eats into their margin. Profits go down. Prices go up. What the Brookstone PLUS platform does is create an efficient platform that lets makers sell in A-level malls with flexible, lower-cost structures that are competitive to selling through online marketplaces. Makers can pass the savings onto the customer while maintaining sufficient profit for further innovation.”
A World of Innovation®
Using the Brookstone PLUS Platform, Brookstone plans to roll out more Makers Showcase stores in the U.S. and China throughout 2018. The company will also host a series of Innovation Competitions at universities in which makers can present their products to industry experts. Winners’ products may be featured in Brookstone stores worldwide.
“With its expertise in retail showmanship plus global manufacturing and distribution resources,” said Head of Strategic Sourcing, Connected Devices and Digital Services, at Amer Sports Pasi Haikola, “Brookstone is uniquely able to help makers at every stage of development.”
“Our vision is that when a person walks into a Brookstone store anywhere in the world,” said Connolly, “they’ll experience the best innovations from all over the world. That is what we mean when we use the Brookstone motto ‘A World of Innovation.’ The first 50 years of Brookstone focused primarily on bringing exciting products to the U.S market. The next phase of our evolution will be to bring them to the world.”
About Brookstone
Founded in 1965, Brookstone is a U.S.-based product developer and retailer of wellness, entertainment, and travel products that are fun to discover, smart to use and beautiful in design. Brookstone products are available at its 140 retail locations in malls and airports throughout the U.S., online at Brookstone.com and through select premium retailers worldwide.
Brookstone is a member of Sanpower Group Company, a private conglomerate whose primary businesses are engaged in technology and modern service industries. With big data serving as its core competitive advantage, Sanpower is rapidly building an industrial ecosystem across the finance, health and commerce sectors. The company now has an excess of RMB 100 billion in both total assets and annual gross sales, and a controlling stake in more than 100 subsidiaries. Through this diverse set of businesses, Sanpower provides growth opportunities for a 100,000-strong global workforce.
For more information, visit Brookstone.com and follow them at Twitter.com/Brookstone, Facebook.com/Brookstone and Instagram.com/BrookstoneGifts.
Media Inquiries: media@Brookstone.com
Brookstone PLUS Partnership Inquiries: Makers@Brookstone.com
University Innovation Platform Inquiries: Edu@Brookstone.com